Watch Me Burn
by illbesmilin
Summary: Just gonna stand there and watch me burn. That's alright because I like the way it hurts. Nonlinear. Channy.


If you would like any clarification, feel free to ask, of course. (:

Oh and like in Misguided Ghosts, Sonny's hometown is Menomonie! Woo! My whacky knowledge of small Wisconsin towns is finally paying off.

Annddddd there is a scene that may not be suitable for some, so I _**bold-italicized**_ the first and last word of it so you know to skip over it if you want. I wouldn't, because it's a crucial point of the story. But those things are okay with me.

**1.**

She throws her clothes into the suitcase furiously. She isn't concerned about neat folds or making sure her good stuff isn't wrinkled. She just wants to leave as soon as possible.

She wants to get away from him.

At just the thought of him, she bursts into tears again and realizes she just fell for his tricks like every other girl in Hollywood does and he does what he does. He moves on.

"Sweetie, are you sure about this?" her mother asks, as she brings her stuff out of her room. "It's just a boy."

It's not just a boy, it's him. But her mother wouldn't get that.

"Yes. Let's go."

**2.**

He sits in an airplane (first class) flying from Los Angeles to Minneapolis, the most logical place to fly into to get to her hometown (before he has to take an hour and a half taxi ride to the town, of course). He reads a magazine that he is in at least ten times and every picture she is in, he is in too. The magazine is so outdated, it doesn't even mention their break-up (her choice, his fault) or her apparent move from Hollywood (but granted he didn't know about it till the night before either). He wishes he could go back to that moment.

The flight attendant hands him his drink apprehensively, and he smiles up at her. When he takes a sip, but it's not the vodka he ordered. The bitch gives him water. He glares up at her.

"Darlin', my daughter watches you on TV all the time; you have one hell of a fake ID, but even I know you are not this Knight guy," she says perkily. "So enjoy your water, _Sunshine_."

Sunshine. Sunny. _Sonny._ Right.

"Hey, um, what's the weather like right now? And I mean in Wisconsin," he asks the attendant semi-politely. "I just want to know if I packed right."

She looks him up and down. "Well, I hope your jacket is insulated," she comments. "But otherwise, if you brought stuff like that, you should be fine."

"Insulated," he repeats. "Why would I need it insulated?" He makes a face at her.

"Sweetie it's January and you're lucky if the temperature hits 10 degrees today," she says flatly, before moving on and shaking her head.

_Hollywood actors._

**3.**

_**"Chad**_ Dylan Cooper! Oh my god! I am such a huge fan!"

The blonde at the club walks up to him and he barely has time to react before she hugs him tightly. She is dressed sluttily and no matter how much he tries to deny it, she's hot as fuck. A rap song comes on and she grins up at him.

"Wanna dance?" she asks and he nods. "Sweet!"

She turns around and suddenly her backside is to his frontside. He rolls his eyes as he hesitantly places his hands on her hips as she rubs herself into his crotch. He sees some of his friends (the one who know about his relationship) shaking their hands at him but he ignores it because he's just grinding and that doesn't mean anything to him. It's not like Sonny likes doing this stuff; she's too innocent like that. And he doesn't want her to not be innocent. It's her thing.

He and the blonde dance like this through a few more rap songs and some other songs as well, until they've been suggestively dancing for over an hour. His jeans feel tighter (fuck his life) and the blonde just keeps getting hotter and hotter. By now, his friends have left and he is feeling the effects of the alcohol he had been drinking throughout the night. The blonde seems drunk too, as she giggles through the slow songs and sings loudly with some T-Pain song. She also doesn't mind him moving his hands up and down on her.

"I only live two blocks away," she mutters quietly, barely heard of the loud music. "Wanna come over?"

"Yeah, why not?" he answers obliviously. (Sonny, who?)

She detaches herself away from him and takes his hand, leading him out of the club. They barely get to the door before they're making out and stumbling around as they refuse to let go of each other. Cameras flash and he gets confused. (Why do they care who he makes out with?) She jumps up onto him, her legs wrapped around his waist and they make it to her apartment.

They undress quickly and before he knows it, they fuck and she passes out shortly after. He instantly sobers up as he realizes the events of the night. Girl, grinding, making out, cameras, her house, fucking. None of those include Sonny Munroe.

As for him, as soon as the morning papers come out, he is exposed for what he truly is: a _**dick**_.

**4.**

"S-s-she left."

"What?"

"She said she was tired of Hollywood and the fake people she was around, and she was going home."

"Home? Isn't her home over in Burbank?"

"No. Her home in _Wisconsin_."

"I need to get her back then! Did she give you an address?"

"Yeah, she said I should come visit her sometime, but let's be serious: why would I go to Wisconsin?"

"Well, then… give it to me."

"Why would I do that?"

"I'm getting her back."

**5.**

He rings the doorbell.

She opens it and stares at him.

He smiles.

She glares at him and slams the door in his face.

He deserves it.

**6.**

He walks down an icy Wisconsin street. His hands are shoved deep in the pockets of his jeans and he gets why that bitch of a flight attendant asked if his jacket was lined. It isn't.

Snow falls from the cloudy skies and sticks on the leather of his stupid non-lined jacket. The town is a ghost town, and he begins to doubt anyone lives here except for Sonny. He looks for someone, anyone to help him find her (he wasn't paying for two first class flights and one long-ass cab ride for nothing), but there is no one on the streets and the stores seem to all be closed.

A car pulls up behind him and startles him. He slips on the ice when he gets jumpy and falls on his ass (the universe just laughs). The car pulls ahead and a familiar looking brunette is staring at him.

"Chad Dylan Cooper?" she questions him.

He looks up at her from the ground. "Um, do I know you, or do you want an autograph?" he snaps in frustration. His ass hurts, his leg hurts from apparently twisting it when he slipped, and his dignity seems to be at an all time low.

She motions at the person in the car before getting out. "I'm Sonny's friend, Lucy. We met when I came to Los Angeles that one time," she explains. "Why are you here?"

"I'm sure Sonny's told you what happened," he grumbles as he stands up. "I'm here to get her back."

"And how did it go?" Lucy asks genuinely.

"I'll let you know when I find out where her house is," he answers. "Look, I don't get girls sometimes, but shouldn't you hate me?"

"Well, I can't hate you, because since Sonny came back, she's done nothing but stay in her room and cry over you," Lucy says. "Granted you did cheat on my best friend, but I think we can move past that if it means you make Sonny happy. So come on, I was headed over there anyways." She pauses. She gets into the front of the car and he gets into the back. The dark haired girl in the driver's seat is looking at him skeptically.

"Luce, why is Chad Dylan Cooper getting into my car?" she asks in confusion.

"Molly, he's Sonny's boyfriend," Lucy explains.

He likes that. Apparently, he is still her boyfriend. Maybe that means he still has a chance. Maybe she is willing to forgive and hopefully forget. Maybe, just maybe.

**7.**

When he wakes up in the morning, the first thing he sees is the picture of himself making out with someone who's not Sonny on the front page of the gossip newspaper. He checks his phone afterwards and there is an influx of messages, but three small three-word text messages stick out to him.

_Sonny Munroe (7:49):  
Really, Chad, really?_

_Sonny Munroe (7:55):  
You're an asshole._

_Sonny Munroe (9:03):_

_Chad. Call me._

He throws his phone across the room instead. He gets out of bed, puts on one of her favorite outfits, and leaves. He has a lot of explaining to do. To a lot of people. But right now, she's the most important person he needs to see. He passes by his parents who are in various phones with various people, his lawyers, his manager, his agent, people representing Condor Studios. Anyone who is trying to wrap their head around his latest stunt. In fact, his parents barely even notice him leaving the house. They are that wrapped up in protecting his reputation, the Cooper reputation. He wonders if any of them are thinking about how this is all going to affect Sonny Munroe, but he doubts it. Those people only look out for him anyways.

**8.**

He has always been a good persuader. If he got his parents to legally change their family's last name from Goldfarb to Cooper when he was seven, then getting Sonny Munroe back when he's nineteen should be a piece of cake. Right?

**9.**

He wants to just forget about Sonny Monroe and go back home after she slams the door in his face, but the looks on Lucy and Molly's faces till him he needs to be persistant. He knocks on the door again and it opens instantly.

"Did you not get the message that slamming the door on your face means for you to go away?" she asks him bitterly. She is about to slam it again, but he sticks his foot in the doorway. "What are you doing here?"

"Apologizing," he answers.

"You think apologizing for this is going to do anything? You are such an asshole."

"I know, I am, but I'm so fucking sorry, Sonny. I blew it with us, but honestly, you can't just leave California over this! It's ridiculous."

She stiffens up. "Y-you don't want to get back together?" For some reason, she sounds depressed at that realization.

"I don't want you to have to go through me screwing everything up again. But the Randoms miss you. Everyone misses you."

"Do you miss me?"

"Um,… yeah."

"Oh."

"Please come back with me. You don't even have to sit or talk to me or anything. Just come back and do what you love to do. It's not fair for your friends that you leave your dreams because of me."

"I don't know, Chad. I just don't want to see you anymore."

"Then you won't."

**10.**

When he arrives at her apartment, she is furious. At first she barely lets him get a word in edgewise, yelling at him over and over and calling him every single name that comes to mind. He takes it and agrees to most of it. He barely flinches when her hand collides with his face. He hangs his head in shame as she tells him how bad he's screwed things up and how he'll never be able to fix this if he tried. She cries and sobs and at one point, she throws herself at him, clutching onto his t-shirt and breaking down. He bites his lip and just pats her back as she lets it all out. She then pulls away and tells him to go away and never talk to her again.

He just tells her he loves her and always will, and does what she asks of him. It when he goes to Condor Studios that next Monday and when Tawni tells him she left, he has to go against what she asked. He has to if he wants to ever see her again.

**11.**

She comes back and everything is semi-normal. She is laughing and joking around with her cast, and he's eating gourmet food with his. Occasionally, while eating, they lock eyes and he stares a moment to long. That's all their relationship is anymore.

Even if he still loves her.

_Just gonna stand there and hear me cry  
That's alright because I love the way you lie_

… If you want, you can totally band together and create a pitchfork mob to go after me and Chad. I'll provide the gasoline to keep them lit ;)

But let's be honest. Getting them back together after a weekend would be so cliché. So I didn't. I'm sorry.

Song is Love The Way You Lie by Eminem & Rihanna.

Well, it's 1:00 in the morning and I've been writing this off and on since 8. If someone wants to proof it and let me know my mistakes, I'll fix them tomorrow. Otherwise, I'll look through and fix it tomorrow. Maybe. If I'm not lazy. … (This is why I could use a beta.)

Well, I'm gonna go get my headstart running, so hope you liked my not-so-happy fic.


End file.
